Chapter 4

Darius POV

I stood behind my desk long after the door closed, staring at the grain of the wood as if it could rearrange itself into sense.

My wolf shifted restlessly beneath my skin.

Not anger, dominance but Disquiet.

I pressed a hand against my chest. There should have been something there.

A thread. A pull. Even faint irritation.

Instead…cold.

A hollow stretch of nothing that made my jaw tighten.

“She’s dramatic,” I muttered under my breath.

My wolf did not agree.

The bond hadn’t snapped. It still lingered..thin, strained but it felt… unstable. Like a bridge built over rot.

Father’s voice rose uninvited from memory.

Do not awaken what must remain dormant.

I was younger then. I am eager to prove myself. Obedient.

He never explained what he meant.

He didn’t need to.

The ritual night flashed through my mind, candles. Blood. Cedric Vale’s rigid expression across the altar. Words spoken in a language older than pack law.

Kaelira had trembled when the tether sealed.

Not from joy.

From resistance.

I flexed my fingers.

We had done what was necessary for unity.

For peace after the massacre.

That was the story.

A knock broke through my thoughts.

“Enter.”

Laura, my gamma, stepped inside without hesitation, closing the door carefully behind her. Her posture was immaculate, dark hair braided tightly over one shoulder. 

“Alpha.”

“What is it?”

She crossed the room slowly. “The warriors are restless.”

“They are always restless.”

“Not like this.”

Her eyes studied me. Searching for weakness.

I gave her none.

“They question Luna's absence from training inspections,” she continued. “They question the council’s silence about an heir.”

“And?”

“And they’re listening to whispers.”

My jaw hardened. “From whom?”

Laura’s mouth curved slightly. “Whispers rarely have owners.”

I leaned back against the desk. “Say it.”

She held my gaze. “Seraphine’s condition has created… expectations.”

The word lingered.

“You spread it too quickly,” I said.

She didn’t deny it.

“It reassures them,” she replied smoothly. “A potential heir restores stability.”

“Potential,” I repeated.

“She carries familiar strength.”

I didn’t miss the weight in her tone.

“Be clear.”

Laura’s eyes flickered. “She has your father’s eyes.”

The air thickened.

“That means nothing.”

“Perhaps.” She tilted her head slightly. “Or perhaps Magnus understood something we did not.”

My fingers dug into the desk’s edge.

Father had many secrets.

He had insisted Kaelira never be fully marked. Never sealed in the old way.

“A controlled alliance,” he had called it.

I obeyed.

Even when instinct urged otherwise.

“She was not meant to awaken,” he had warned.

Awaken what?

Laura stepped closer. “The elders believe alternatives should be discussed formally.”

“You mean replacing her.”

“I mean protecting Ironfang’s future.”

Her voice never sharpened. That was her strength.

“She has been… distant,” Laura added. “Her wolf is silent. Her influence is weakening.”

“She is still Luna.”

“For now.”

A muscle ticked in my jaw.

“You push too far, Gamma.”

“I push where you hesitate.”

Silence stretched between us.

“She has always been strong,” I said finally.

Laura’s brows lifted slightly.

“She stabilized you,” she replied quietly. “Whether you admit it or not.”

The door opened without a knock.

Lucian stepped in, closing it firmly behind him.

“Interrupting?” he asked.

“You already have,” Laura said coolly.

Lucian ignored her, eyes settling on me. “The council is gathering again tomorrow.”

“Let them gather.”

“They want answers.”

“They will get them.”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “If you force her further, you will fracture the pack.”

“She walked out.”

“And you let her.”

My wolf bristled.

“I am Alpha,” I said.

“Yes,” Lucian replied evenly. “And she is not your enemy.”

Laura crossed her arms. “Sentiment does not produce heirs.”

Lucian’s gaze cut to her. “Pressure does not produce loyalty.”

The room thickened with tension.

I turned away from both of them.

“I followed my father’s command,” I said quietly. “I did not mark her fully because he forbade it.”

Lucian frowned. “Why?”

“He said it would awaken something.”

Laura’s expression sharpened. “And you believed him.”

“He had reasons.”

“He also orchestrated the ritual alliance,” she countered. “An illegal binding to secure Crescent blood under Ironfang control.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

Control.

Peace had required sacrifice.

Kaelira’s father agreed.

That was the pact.

Yet…

I remembered the way her wolf had fought that night. The surge of resistance when the tether locked into place.

“She has been weakening,” Laura continued. “The ritual may have suppressed something volatile.”

Lucian’s eyes darkened. “Or powerful.”

I exhaled sharply. “Enough.”

They fell silent.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

Before I could respond, it opened.

Seraphine slipped inside, closing it gently behind her. She wore pale blue, fabric flowing softly around her frame.

Fragile.

Careful.

“My Alpha,” she said quietly.

Laura stepped back, watching.

Seraphine approached me slowly. “I did not wish to intrude, but the elders have begun asking me questions.”

“About?” I asked.

She hesitated, then placed a hand lightly over her abdomen.

“About the child.”

The word settled heavily.

My gaze dropped briefly to her stomach.

Too flat.

Too composed.

“When did you confirm it?” I asked.

Her lashes fluttered. “The healer examined me three days ago.”

“Strange,” I said slowly. “She has not reported it formally.”

Seraphine’s fingers tightened subtly before relaxing. “She wished to protect my privacy.”

Laura spoke smoothly. “Given Luna's… condition, it seemed prudent.”

Seraphine stepped closer, placing her hand lightly over mine.

“I carry your future,” she whispered.

Her skin was warm.

But I felt nothing.

No surge.

No instinctive claim.

Just expectation.

Lucian watched the exchange carefully.

“When was your last cycle?” he asked suddenly.

Seraphine stiffened.

Laura’s gaze snapped toward him.

“That is inappropriate,” she said sharply.

Lucian didn’t move. “It is relevant.”

Seraphine swallowed. “I… I cannot recall precisely.”

My wolf stirred.

Suspicion.

Small.

My gaze lingered on her a second longer. The way she held herself..poised, almost rehearsed reminded me of the quiet confidence Father once carried when he kept secrets from the council.

Not just any secrets. Family ones.

I withdrew my hand slowly.

“You should rest,” I said.

Relief flickered across her face too quickly before she masked it.

She inclined her head and left the room.

As she turned toward the door, the lamplight caught her face at an angle I hadn’t noticed before.

Her eyes, dark, steady, with that same sharp glint at the edges were too familiar.

The thought came unbidden, sharp and unwelcome, and I pushed it down before it could take root.

Silence followed.

“You doubt her,” Lucian said quietly.

“I verify before I trust.”

Laura’s expression had cooled.

“Public doubt will destabilize the narrative,” she warned.

“I did not ask for a narrative.”

I stepped away from them both and moved toward the window.

Night pressed against the glass.

My chest tightened again.

The bond.

I reached inward.

Testing it.

Instead of warmth, I found something else.

A faint echo.

Dark.

Corroded.

Like ink bleeding through water.

The tether pulsed once and pain shot through my ribs.

I staggered slightly, gripping the window frame.

Laura stepped forward. “Alpha?”

“It’s… shifting.”

Lucian’s eyes sharpened. “Shifting how?”

“Unraveling.”

The word tasted bitter.

The ritual had woven our bond tightly, too tightly.

Now it felt like threads snapping loose.

Poison seeping backward.

Father’s warning echoed louder.

Do not awaken what must remain dormant.

A sharp knock exploded against the door.

Before anyone could respond, it burst open.

A border scout rushed inside, dirt streaking his uniform.

“Alpha!” he barked, dropping to one knee.

“What is it?”

“There’s movement near the northern ridge.”

“Rogues?” Lucian asked.

The scout shook his head.

“No, sir.”

My wolf rose slowly, alert.

“What then?” I demanded.

The scout swallowed.

“A lone Lycan warrior.”

The word sliced through the air.

Lycan.

Ancient. Stronger. Territorial.

“They rarely travel alone,” Laura said quietly.

“This one does,” the scout replied. “He crossed near the old Crescent lands.”

My heartbeat slowed.

“Did he speak?”

The scout hesitated.

“He was heard muttering something.”

“What?”

The scout lifted his eyes.

“Crescent blood debts.”

Silence swallowed the room.

My wolf went still.

Completely still.

And for the first time since Kaelira walked out…

I felt fear.